New A's catcher Geovany Soto joins team in Houston

HOUSTON -- Catcher Geovany Soto was added to the A's roster and in the A's clubhouse Monday, a day after the A's picked him up in a low-budget deal ($300,000) with the Texas Rangers.

He was not, however, in the starting lineup, but sitting on the bench as the insurance the A's badly need while Derek Norris was behind the plate.

"It's been a little crazy," Soto said after dressing in green and gold for the first time.

As expected, catcher John Jaso went on the seven-day disabled list while dealing with complications of a concussion. With Jaso out for at least a week and Stephen Vogt (foot) unable to much defensively beyond playing first base, Soto was the kind of late-season addition a club in contention reaches out for.

He had knee surgery early in the year, but he's worked his way back into shape, starting at Double-A Frisco.

"I'm healthy now. Nothing's bothering me," Soto said. "I loved it in Texas, but I'm happy to be here and want to do whatever they need."

He'd played mostly in the minor leagues in the Rangers organization while getting healthy before getting in 10 games for Texas before the time the A's came calling. The 31-year-old is a career .248 hitter with 92 big league homers while playing for the Cubs and Rangers.

The A's don't know if Jaso will be out more than seven days. He missed the last two months of the 2013 season with concussion issues, although those were more severe than his current problems.